sewardmom wrote:On the high school page there is a value of 3 credits listed. Does anyone know how that is broken down and/or what that applies to? Is that referring to English, Bible, and History? If that is the case, then I assume we determine the credit value for Science, FL....

We will be doing high school in two years or so (gulp - how can that be?).
I attended a HS transcript class a few months ago and am trying to understand how MFW HS will provide what we need in the credit arena.

Also, what method/curriculum is used to teach the essay writing and composition skills at this level?
Terri

The 3 credits refer to English, Bible and History. (1 credit = 1 year. I say that for the benefit of anyone in a state, such as Indiana, where public school high schools measure 1 credit in terms of one semester.)

Science: MFW recommends using Apologia High School Science materials. Each of those programs is a year long credit.

Foreign Language – Some basic information about how MFW is using Rosetta Stone in high school is on the high school website.

You asked about composition, etc. Since the 1st year of the high school program is being piloted this year, be encouraged to call the MFW office and ask.

We used TranscriptPro for our oldest (now 23) as I had all his grades and info written down but needed a professional looking transcript quickly. As I remember I just entered the course, credit, and grade...very easy.

I don't know if TranscriptPro is the same as when I bought it years ago. At the time it was what we wanted and needed. I already had all my son's records written down on paper and just needed a professional looking transcript. At that time (don't know if it is still the same), TranscriptPro didn't allow you to enter assignments or daily grades. I would just enter the course, credit, and grade.

For the next two children I wanted something that would keep track of daily grades, hours, books read, and so on. I went with Homeschool Easy Records and liked that as well. It also prints out a very nice transcript. You can use it from grade school through high school.

So...depending on what you are looking for in a software I would recommend TranscriptPro if you just want a transcript. If you want something that keeps track of daily assignments, hours, and grades go with something else.

Kimberly

Postby KimberlyND » Tue Apr 28, 2009 4:03 pm
I used Transcipt Pro and Homeschool Easy Records for the three older kids. Both were computer software programs. With HER you could print out a weekly schedule. What I wanted them for was to keep track of their hours and grades for high school credit. They both were easy to use and took only a little of my time once a week. I was able to print out a professional transcript to use when the kids applied to college with the information I had entered.

Of course you won't need to keep track of these things until your children are in high school. Use what you prefer until then.

sharij wrote: Does MFW have any sort of grading scale for the high school years?

yes. some samples of that are on page 5 and 6 of the AHL sample

(and I'm soooooooo glad they have guidlines)

things like Saxon Math and Apologia Science have their own grading information in them. (Rosetta Stone has a built in grading system and record keeping.)

Advanced question.... it is high school level, not college level. College preparation does not mean college credit.

I have the impression from talking with high school kids who are using the program that they are in a "high school honors level class" in MFW high school. They work diligently. Yet still have time to hang out with friends. not all of them are "super academic geek types" either.

As someone who was in "high school honors level classes", (back a few decades ago) I can tell you that those classes had some advanced students and some "average" students too. So we weren't all super advanced. We had different ways to get help. not all of us made straight A's in all of our honors classes either, but it was perceived to be better to finish with a B in an honors course instead of getting an A in an "average speed" course. That was back in my days in high school.

I'm guessing that MFW's high school program is probably going to be the same way.

(((hugs)), your child still has several years to grow and mature before being in high school. It's going to be ok. In the jr. high years, if you stick with MFW's recommendations, they'll have time to grow and help them get there. We'll be ok. They grow a lot from 6th grade.

Thank you...
I looked at the grading guideline and that was helpful.
Thank you for your encouragement, too. She seems so young and immature at this age. I'm trying to imagine her using the High School program when she has little desire to do much more then play! I'll be waiting for the growth that you mentioned... ;)
God bless!
shari

But perhaps the question is even related to specifics of Ancient History and Literature being 3 credits (Bible, English and HIstory) even though it uses Notgrass World History AND other resources. Well, that is a good question, probably not what she was asking, but a good question and that can be reviewed on this thread...http://board.mfwbooks.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7681

The other part of that is: why does MFW uses Notgrass Exploring World History over 2 years in high school?

Exploring World History by John Notgrass provides a strong Christian
perspective for world history. MFW combines these books with other resources
over a two year period for a number of reasons. First, taking two years to
cover the material allows students to read the entire Old Testament during
Ancient History and Literature and the entire New Testament during World
History and Literature. It also allows the student to study church history
in depth. MFW's program has additional literature and literary analysis beyond
Exploring World History to enrich the literature portion of the program.
The Literature and Composition Supplement includes extensive teaching on
writing the argumentative essay during Ancient History and Literature. In
World History and Literature, Writers INC provides additional instruction
for a variety of writing assignments including a research paper. Other
books such as Experiencing God and missionary biographies are added to
enhance a full credit of Bible each year.

Sweetmom wrote:I'm new...strongly considering AHL for two high schoolers next year. My children are currently 19yob in college, 17yob graduating, 15yob, 13yog, 9yob.

Has anyone done AHL with two students or can give advice about evaluating multiple students? I'm wondering about how to handle grading & expectations for two different children doing the same material, but who are on two different levels. My son will be an 11th grader who is more academically inclined, not to mention simply older and more advanced. The other in AHL would be my daughter who will be a 9th grader. I've already talked to her about the curriculum and she's excited about taking on the challenge. But I know the reading will take her longer, the vocabulary will be more difficult, and although she is a good writer, her writing compared to her older brother's writing will not be at the same level.

Any thoughts or recommendations on how to evaluate them objectively yet taking into account their ages & abilities? We have mostly used a textbook approach for high school with my older two where they worked on their own level. Thanks!
Sweetmom

Must be that time of year where traffic is slow here while people are busy with Thanksgiving around the corner.

Even though I haven't done AHL, I have several friends who have done the program. I get the idea from them, that a lot of the grading will be with essay writing. So, I think when you have one child in 9th and the other in 11th, you would evaluate their essay development based on where they start and how they progress and grade that individually. Some things are quizzes and it's all broken down in the lesson plans for points and stuff like that. So, some parts will be more objective on the grade and it won't matter so much on 9th vs. 11th.

For Bible time it says on the sample that they are graded based on effort, completion of work, demonstration of higher level thinking, discussion, and service project. A child who is older might be expected to think more or might have more to say on a topic. So the student who is 9th grade - may not have as much.

Again, I don't think it is designed to be like "classroom" grading style where they are pitted against each other and it becomes a competition. Both can earn A's and it can be accurate if they are doing the work and skills are progressing.

Crystal has done a great job in giving you some information about how grading is recommended for the programs. Please call our office to speak with one of our consultants about your concerns of having 2 students at different levels in the same program. We will be happy to answer your questions and to talk with you about the best options for your family.

sewardmom wrote:In the AHL TM there are suggested point values assigned for History (5 points per map/all maps 25 points..) and English.
I am finding it difficult to score the indiviudal items. Did any of you grade History and English some other way (instead of the point values listed)?

Another example that I am challenged by is the Greek Alphabet quiz being worth 5 points. Not sure how to do that.. Perhaps I need to recalculate these subjects so I can see a more understandable grade representation ...?

I understand how to use the recommended 'point' system, it just challenges us a tad on the total grade for our spreadsheet. If you did it another way or have a suggestion to share, please do! Thanks,
~Terri

Hi Terri,
Standard disclaimer here: in addition to our ideas, be sure to call the MFW office for some of their ideas too for grading. Several of the staff have done high school years too and might have some better insights.

I’ve just finished week 7 of AHL, so I’m looking ahead. Think of it this way:
The Greek alphabet quiz is worth 5% of their total grade in history for the whole year. So, it becomes easy over the whole year to think of it as 5 points out of 100 points that will be used to determine final grade in the year for history.
The Kings chart is 10 percent of final grade. and so on. Using the give it 5 points is just a quick way to account for percent of final grade.

There are 50 possible right answers on the Greek alphabet quiz. (25 letter names, 25 letter sounds). Add up right answers. I might end up assigning grades this way:
between 45-50 right gets the 5 score
40-44 gets the 4 score (and 7 years... ha ha ha lame)
30-39, get 3 score
etc.
The quiz comes after several weeks of some daily work and flashcards and things like that. I don't know how I'll end up doing it, but that's my thinking after looking at it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Those History essays
5 points means you got an A
4 points means you got a B
3 is a C
2 D
1, at least turned in something in writing but it looks like the cat ate it
0 did not do the assignment at all

Then, I use the general A vs. B ideas that are given in the week 1 lesson in Lit/Comp supplement.

One of the history essays I gave a 4.5 instead of a 5 because she didn’t have it done by the extended deadline. We had to extend the due date due to life reasons, but she missed the extension. So, it would have been a 5, but took .5 point off for late. Thought about full point, but didn’t.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The English essays they give more details for evaluating and grade on 10 scale
10 A
9 A-
8B
7B-
And so on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Map work. We’ve only had 2 map work assignments so far. There are specific questions for each map. So, I count up the right answers. I’m not doing it as percentages though.
The map work this week had 15 questions on it. This is how I’m doing it.
If she got 13-15 right, I give it 5 points
12-14 then I give 4 points
9-11, give 3 points
And so on down the scale.

She got a 5 because she got 13 correct and had brain freeze moments on the others where she transferred the information “backwards” (more like upside down) But she followed the instructions on the questions, answered the stuff, did the look up data, turned in on time.

I don’t know if that’s a reasonable scale or not. But she’s capable of the work. Just one way,
-crystal

ilovemy4kids wrote:So, what do you call the Bible courses on a transcript when you need to make them something more "schoolish" and widely accepted? They count as electives for graduation, but I need to know how to effectively list them to make them count.
Sandra

MrsRobinson wrote:I am specifically wondering about using it with MFW high school for transcript purposes.
Anyone want to chime in?
We are just about to finish AHL. Would I have to enter the entire lesson plan book into this program?
Thanks!
Melanie

There was a tiny discussion here: [above]

Have you looked thru the grading recommendations in the AHL manual? There's quite a bit of detail there.

LSH in MS wrote:Please explain to me the point system in AHL and how to convert them to grades. Thanks

Hi Lori,
I just got done calculating all my son's grades for his PSEO applications (you didn't think I was doing that before I *had* to, did you?!). I found these HSLDA newsletters helpful. I sort-of *knew* what to do, and most of it was probably in the AHL manual, but somehow it helped to read it again. I'm a reader, I guess

Julie in MN wrote:I just got done calculating all my son's grades for his PSEO applications (you didn't think I was doing that before I *had* to, did you?!).

ROTFLOL! I wondered... I wondered...

********

I, on the other hand, have to submit grades to some oversight group... They have a scale that I'm supposed to use. of course I do.. cough.. They have it as 94-100 = A... but I remember in college it was 90-100 scale...

I like the HSLDA articles... it reminds me that it's an art. It's a lot like watching Dancing with the Stars tonight.. They all had A and A plus performances. even the lady who got the injury at the last measure of 2nd song....

Even if you never watch that kind of show, you might follow what I'm getting at...... it's part objective and part subjective..... just like on anything that is ranked and graded.... what made it an 9 over an 10? It was an A performance! (I still need to cast my fan vote.......ok.. now my brain is here )

so what does that mean in AHL? I'm thinking in multiple directions on what you are asking...... Are you asking how to convert the essay rubrics to a 10 point scale? are you asking for range for letter grades with percentages.... should I just go to sleep?

in history - I added up the points the way the list assigned. (maps 25, etc...) and did it as out of 100 possible. I used a general scale that of course matched my umbrella school's wishes give or take.

to assess each individual map in AHL for 5 points: I used this kind of objective meets subjective
1 point for done on time
and 2 points each for
followed instructions (0 if no, 1 if did most of the work, 2 if all of the work)
I could read the map that was turned

the alphabet quiz: I scaled that from "out of 50 points" there were 50 answers... so, then it was divided by 10.. so my daughter got 49, which was 4.9

I gave a subjective feel on the Kings Chart: again... it was completed, effort and done on time. I took a point off for sloppy.. so it was a 9
10-9 are A's
8 and 7 = B's
6 and 5 = C.
below that... they didn't do the work and you're probably not going there. right?

timeline book... it was completed on time, accurate and all of that... it was almost gimme 20 points on that...
review questions - effort and done.. she was getting those without trouble, so I had no problem with "10" (a lot like Bruno tonight on DWTS)

and the notgrass essays:
again it was assigning 5 points for a rubric. on time, on topic, grammar/usage, effort

somewhere around here I have something about converting those 14 or 15 checklist rubrics on the essays into a 10 point scale for each one.... would that help or just clutter things? I'm sorry my answer wasn't tidy.

Tracey in ME wrote:I need help trying to figure this out. I think I've actually asked this before, but forgot the answer.

How do I figure out a grade when part of it is based on one thing, and part another? For instance, Apologia science - 35% of the grade should be based on lab reports, 65% on tests with quarterly tests being worth twice as much as the module tests.

How in the world do I figure that out? I only know how to take all of the tests' percentages, total them up, then divide by the number of tests for a grade. I don't mind doing the math, hahaha, I just couldn't figure this puzzle out!

I thought about it for a minute and then thought, "Oh, just message the MFW board...why try to reinvent the wheel?"

My husband set up an excel spreadsheet that calculates it all and we just enter the grades.
Makes it quite speedy.

I noticed you have a couple of teenagers.
I am thinking a great assignment for them would be to set up the excel spreadshee!
My teens have so much more patience and willingness to monkey around with technology!
~Terri

donutmom wrote:Perhaps this has been asked and I just cannot find it, but I was wondering if you'd be willing to share how you list course titles on your child's transcripts. For example, for the first year, did you just title history, "Ancient History" and English "Ancient Literature" or "Ancient Literature and Composition" or "English 1" or something else more creative than that? How about for the Bible? I'm lacking thoughts there. . . "OT Survey"??? That's all I can come up with.

I hope my question makes sense. We are just in our freshman year here, but please feel free to share from any of the years of high school for future reference.

Thanks for your help!
--Dee

Here are the titles we used for our two kids--

English: English 9, English 10, English 11, English 12
History: Ancient History, World History, US History to 1877, US History 1877 to Present
Bible (electives): Old Testament, Church History, Biblical Worldview, Spiritual Disciplines